Nominal sizes

$5 images (front)

Image

Description

Significance

Sir Edmund Hillary portrait

Sir Edmund Hillary (1919 - 2008)

Sir Edmund Hillary is New Zealand’s best known mountaineer. In 1953, he and Tenzing Sherpa were the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and in 1958 was the first person to drive over continental Antarctica to the South Pole.

Mt Cook/Aoraki

Mount Cook/Aoraki

Mount Cook/Aoraki, in New Zealand’s South Island, is New Zealand’s highest mountain. It was the scene of Sir Edmund Hillary’s earliest major climbing successes, and was regarded by Hillary as one of his favourite mountains.

Tukutuku "kaokao"

Kaokao

The pattern included on the banknote is called kaokao and is from the Tane-Nui-A-Rangi meeting house on the University of Auckland marae.

The kaokao pattern symbolises the strength and shelter of the Māori meeting house and mountains – both of which feature prominently in proverbs and aphorisms of the Māori people.

$5 images (back)

Image

Description

Significance

Yellow-eyed penguin/
Hoiho (Megadyptes antipodes)

Yellow-eyed penguin or Hoiho

The hoiho (Megadyptes antipodes) is unique to New Zealand and is one of the world’s rarest penguins. They are found along the south-eastern coastline of the South Island, and on Stewart, Campbell and the Auckland Islands. The hoiho has a distinctive yellow iris and a yellow band of feathers across the back of its head. Adults are grey-blue on the back, with a snow-white belly and pink feet. Uniquely for penguins they are solitary nesters and will to travel quite far inland to do so.

The species is threatened by habitat destruction by humans and predation of chicks by stoats, dogs, ferrets and cats.

Campbell Island scene

Campbell Island

Campbell Island is the southernmost of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands (approx. 600 kilometres southeast of Stewart Island) and a population of Yellow-Eyed Penguin live and breed here. This view of Campbell Island shows Northwest Bay from the slopes of Mt Azimuth.

Ross lily(Bulbinella rossii)

Ross lily

The Ross lily (Bulbinella rossii) produces spectacular yellow flower heads in early summer and grows to a height of about one metre. It is not a true lily, being more closely related to aloe. It is native only to the subantarctic Auckland and Campbell Islands.

Campbell Island daisy (Pleurophyllum speciosum)

Campbell Island Daisy

This plant (Pleurophyllum speciosum) has colourful pink and purple flower heads and is a mega-herb in the daisy family, found on Campbell and Auckland Islands. Here the plants grow close to the ground to avoid the strong winds.

Sir Edmund Hillary supplied his image for the Series 6 banknotes which were designed in 1999.